Photo Journal: Hangin' in there

January 5, 2016 (Mainichi Japan)

A man hangs upside down on an old-style ladder during a performance at Somakodaka Shrine in the Odaka district of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Jan. 4, 2016. Residents of the Odaka district, evacuated in the wake of the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in March 2011, still cannot move back home. However, several hundred people turned out for the event at the shrine, watching local scaffold-builders twist and turn their way through daring maneuvers on the 7-meter-tall ladders. The traditional event is a prayer for good health in the coming year, and has been held at Somakodaka Shrine four times since the Odaka district was opened to day visits. (Mainichi)